This Battle Lord's Quest by Linda Mooney

a place to fill our water bags. If we’re
lucky, we’ll come across some game that will lead us to a spring or something.”
    They remained on a southern course, during which
they ran across more and more tracks, many of them fresh and resembling pockets
of earth filled with rain water.
    “I haven’t seen this much available game in years,”
Paxton remarked.
    “Don’t count your eggs before the chickens have
laid them,” Atty laughed. “Just because we see evidence doesn’t mean much. It
only proves the game is here. For all we know, the same animals could be
crisscrossing the same territory over and over.”
    “But at least your hunch was right,” Renken told
her. “Moving over that extra mile made a difference.”
    “We really don’t know that for sure,” she admitted.
“We didn’t give the other site enough distance or time to prove or disprove my
theory.”
    “Hey, that one paid off, and this one looks like it
might do the same,” Paxton smiled.
    Conversation died as they continued to push their
way through the forest. By the time the sun began to sink behind the trees,
Atty called a halt and tossed the two large birds she’d shot to Paxton.
    “Start dressing these. Renken, start a fire. I’m
going to climb a tree.”
    Amused and curious, the two men did their chores
while Atty scaled one of the taller trees nearby. She didn’t stop at the first
overhanging branch, or the next one. It wasn’t until she was nearly twenty feet
off the ground that she paused and appeared to survey the surrounding area.
Paxton already had the birds skewered and on the fire when she hit the ground.
    “Listen up, guys. We sleep in the trees tonight.”
    “Not arguing with you,” Renken drawled. “But can I
ask why?”
    “Remember those bear tracks we saw some ways back?
They keep popping up again and again, and they always look fresh. Although I
didn’t see anything big moving about, the last thing I want is to be awakened
by a hungry or pissed off bear.” She threw a thumb up at the trees. “There’s
plenty of room up there. The branches are big enough. All we need to do is tie
ourselves down so we don’t fall.”
    “What about the fire?” Renken asked. “Want to bank
it? Or keep it going?”
    Paxton spoke up. “I thought animals were afraid of
fire.”
    “They are,” the ex-mercenary noted. “But the smell
of meat cooking might make them curious enough to investigate.”
    “We need to eat, and I don’t want to deplete our
rations if we don’t need to,” Atty told them. “We’ll bury the bones, but build
up the fire to keep it burning throughout the night. Hopefully we won’t be
bothered.”
    “What about sentry duty?” Paxton suggested.
    Atty shook her head. “Forget it. If we’re high
enough, anything sniffing about won’t be able to reach us.”
    Renken smiled as he scratched the side of his nose.
“You forget bears can climb trees?”
    She grinned. “If it’s as big as a bear, and tries
to climb the tree to come after me, it’s going to make a hell of a lot of
noise, not to mention shake the tree. By then, I’ll be able to get out of its
way, or put an arrow in it.”
    “Atty.”
    She glanced over at Paxton. The Second’s face was
pale. Before she could open her mouth to respond, he asked, “What about Bloods?
Do you see any sign of them? Or sense them?”
    Renken also turned to give her a burning,
questioning look.
    “No,” she replied with all seriousness. “I detect
nothing. Trust me, men. If I did, I wouldn’t keep it to myself.”
    They ate the birds, making a pile of bones to bury
later. Several times Renken tried to toss a couple into the dirt to make them
stand up the way Fortune had, but without any luck.
    “Damn. How does he do it?”
    Paxton laughed. “It’s easy. But first, you have to
be Mutah.”
    Renken took the ribbing good-naturedly. They
continued to eat in silence as they listened to the familiar night sounds
surrounding them.
    “Is there anything in